Understanding Alt Text

Have you ever heard of alt text? It’s a brief textual description of an image, video, or other media used to convey the content and function of the visual element. Alt text is an essential part of website accessibility, enabling visually impaired or disabled users who use screen readers to understand what is displayed on a page.

Why Alt Text is Important

Alt text plays a crucial role in website accessibility, especially for those with visual disabilities or using assistive technology. Without alt text, these users may miss crucial information conveyed through images. Additionally, alt text is essential for search engine optimization (SEO) as search engines like Google use alt text to understand an image’s content and index it accordingly. By using effective alt text, you can enhance your website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results pages.

How to Use Alt Text in WordPress

Add alt text to your WordPress images, videos, and other media by following these simple steps:

1. Add an image to your post or page.
2. Select the image you want to add and click the “Insert into post” button.
3. Click on the added image and scroll down to the “Alternate Text” field to add your alt text.
4. Save your changes by clicking the “Update” button.

Tips for Effective Alt Text Writing

Check out these tips to write effective alt text:

• Be descriptive yet concise.
• Include relevant keywords but avoid over-optimization.
• Use hyphens between words.
• Avoid phrases like “image of,” “picture of,” or “photo of” as screen readers already announce it’s an image.
• Don’t include file extensions or image dimensions.
• Add alt text to all media types used on your website.

In conclusion, alt text is vital for enhancing website accessibility and SEO. WordPress makes it easy to add alt text, so do not forget to write descriptive yet concise alt text accurately conveying the content and function of the image or media. By following these tips, you can create alt text that benefits all users.